


C is for Coded Letter

by Solstice0612



Category: Stargate SG-1
Genre: Alphabet Soup Challenge, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-02-29
Updated: 2016-02-29
Packaged: 2018-05-23 20:18:32
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,211
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6128866
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Solstice0612/pseuds/Solstice0612
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A letter by Sha’re finally reaches Daniel</p>
            </blockquote>





	C is for Coded Letter

**Author's Note:**

> My sincere thanks to DennyJ for her helpful beta work and to Fig Newton for organizing this Epistolary Alphabet Soup.

 

Teal’c crossed the large plaza under the noon sun. Casting a dignified figure, he moved with purpose but without rushing. Once in a while, when he passed by a fellow council member or an acquaintance, he nodded in salute but continued in his path without stopping to converse, as he sometimes did. There was no time to waste today. The old Jaffa was dying and she had something to say.

Once he reached his destination, the home of an old comrade in arms, he was quickly led into a chamber in the back. The Jaffa was lying on the large bed, her white hair artfully pulled back and combed into a long braid that rested on the blankets covering her slender body. She was still beautiful, in spite of her advanced age. With a graceful wave of her hand, she pointed towards a chair by the side of the bed.

“Emetjer, it is an honor see you. It has been a long time,” said Teal’c sitting down.

“Teal’c, I appreciate your visit. As you can see, I have little time left before I move on to the great beyond.”

“You have been an honorable Jaffa, Emetjer. How can I be of assistance?”

“I wish to give you something that I should have given you long ago, but I must explain. As you know, I was a Jaffa in the service of Apophis and his Queen Amonet for a long time.”

Teal’c’s eyebrow rose slightly, but he remained silent.

“When Apophis fell into the hands of Sokar and Amonet was unable to defeat Heru’ur, she ordered me to prepare a safe place where she could hide with her young child. However, like all Goa’ulds, she underestimated the power of our rebellion,” she said, before a cough raked her body. After drawing a few breaths, the elderly Jaffa continued, “I am growing weak. I must get to the point.”

“I appreciate your effort in telling me of Amonet’s plans, but what purpose does this information serve? The System Lords are no more,” asked Teal’c gently, not wanting to tire his friend more than necessary.

“I am dying as well, and now I truly understand the importance of bringing all circles to a full close. Amonet’s young host did as well. Her name was Sha’re and she knew her life could soon be over. Amonet never revealed to me the reasons for wanting a human child, but during those first weeks of her pregnancy when the host emerged, Sha’re asked me to write a letter to her husband. I was told you know the human well.”

Emetjer’s frail, slender fingers came from under the blanket holding a small parchment tightly rolled, which she slowly moved towards Teal’c. “Sha’re could not write well so I helped her. I swear upon my honor that I wrote exactly as she dictated. My request is that you take the letter and decide if this message needs to reach its destination. It is now your burden.”

Emetjer directed her vivid dark eyes towards Teal’c for a long moment, gave him a small smile, and fell into a deep, exhausted sleep.

Putting the message inside the folds of his robe, Teal’c left the house and found his way home choosing a more circuitous but quiet route. What was it that O’Neill used to say about allowing resting canines to recline?

In the shady room that served as his office, Teal’c sat down at a table and put the roll in front of him. Did he have the right to read it and know its contents? Emetjer, who had served with him under Apophis as first companion to the Queen, who had supported them, Brat’ac and him, in every way she could, had now passed this responsibility on to him.

Her hesitation in delivering the message did not bode well. Did it involve the kind of information that reopened old wounds and made things worse? Alas, there was only one way to find out. Teal’c untied the knotted cord and opened the roll. Emetjer’s elegant and vaguely familiar handwriting filled the page with Goa’uld glyphs. He read it in English, automatically translating it in his head.

 

 

_To Daniel of the Tau’ri,_

_This is from Sha’re, the young woman who was once your wife._

_I know that my departure left you heartbroken. Do not grieve._

_I  was chosen  by  a  magnificent  Queen  to be  her  chariot._

_Do not  shed  any  more  tears  for  I am  following a  new path._

_I  am  loved  by  a  God   and  allowed to rule over  thousands._

_I  wish  you  to  understand  that  our  marriage  ended  as  I_

_assumed  my  royal  status  as  Queen  Amonet’s  host  and_

_entered this new life and new role for the good of our subjects._

_You  must  understand,  I  was  the  daughter  of  a  chieftain;_

_I  was  raised  to  prevail  in  the  most  adverse  situations,_

_a strong warrior  that helped defeat  Ra  and his hold  on us._

_I made you stay by my side because you were so valiant and_

_rose above everyone else with such ease. Well educated, you_

_taught  me  much  about  what  existed  well  beyond  Abydos._

_When Apophis took me, I was scared at first, but soon enough_

_I accepted willingly what I was able to do in my new position._

_Only the powerful comprehend the responsibility of leadership_

_and the actions that must be taken for the good of all peoples,_

_even if they must suffer at times. Such is life and the fate of all._

_Amonet  and  I  understand  each  other  and  work  together_

_to make Apophis stronger and become Supreme System Lord_

_by having a powerful child who can help us achieve this aim._

_I am with a great Queen who deserves a System Lord capable_

_of  reaching far  enough  to seek  the  ancient  gate-builders_

_to learn  their secrets  so  we  may  rival  their  mighty  feats_

_and  keep  their  wisdom  away  from  the  rapacious  grasp  
_

_of our foolish enemies, blind to the glorious vision and power_

_of the Goa’uld.  Queen Amonet  wants a path through which_

_the Goa’uld rule supreme and establish their stable order and_

_peace is assured for all the future children she is yet to birth._

_Much weighs in the balance but Apophis will prevail even if_

_our enemies make this fate uncertain. I will have his child in_

_a  place safe  from those  who covet  him  until  he is born in_

_secret. I will leave this letter behind for you so you will know_

_that is no longer necessary  for you  to pursue  Apophis  as_

_I am no longer yours. Now you must follow your own path._

_Tau’ri, your meddling will lead to your destruction. Beware._

 

_Sha’re_

  


Teal’c considered the disturbing content of the rambling letter. There was enough truth in it to make it plausible but the accounts of who Sha’re was did not fit comfortably with the words on the page.

He trusted Emetjer as much as he trusted Master Bra’tac. Could Amonet have made Sha’re write such a message? There were mind techniques available to use on the host when the symbiote needed to be suppressed for a time.

Perhaps Amonet wished to demoralize Daniel Jackson, whose relentless pursuit of her threatened Apophis. Or maybe she needed to convince Apophis of her own loyalty in some way.

If Sha’re was indeed a power-hungry despot, then their last encounter on Abydos when she gave birth had a been a ruse to secure Daniel’s help for an aim only the Goa’uld knew. Was Amonet trying to usurp Apophis’ power? That would explain her silence about their presence as she left the planet. In fact, both symbiote and host had cooperated to convince Daniel to save the harcesis when everything seemed lost.

Yet, Daniel had loved the Abydonian woman and he was a good judge of character. Or was he? Shyla, Ke’ra, even the names of those he inadvertently helped like Hathor, Osiris, and Adria came to mind. Had not Vala Mal Doran fit into this pattern once?

Teal’c put the letter down and closed his eyes. Emetjer had said the letter was a burden. Could this message lift the guilt that Daniel had carried on his shoulders for such a long time? Or would it cause him further agony?

Full of dread, Teal’c lifted his eyes from the curling parchment in front of him and looked at the sky beyond his window. There were no answers there. Yet he knew. Things never turned out well when keeping secrets from friends.

 

====

 

Daniel was surprised but very pleased that Teal’c had decided to gate back to Earth after taking an indefinite leave of absence in order to serve once more in the Jaffa Council. He waited for his friend to finish up at the infirmary and then escorted him to his office.

Teal’c looked around the familiar, cluttered place and smiled.

“Have a seat. This gotta be important if you’ve come all this way to see me.”

“Indeed.” Teal’c hesitated and Daniel raised his eyebrows in concern.

“Everything okay?”

“Everything is fine. Daniel Jackson, I was asked to carry out a duty that is not a pleasant one. An old Jaffa comrade of Brat’ac and mine, called Emetjer, gave me a letter. She served under Amonet and later became a member of the Jaffa resistance. On her deathbed she told me she wrote this letter on behalf of Sha’re when she first became pregnant. The content is disturbing, so Emetjer waited to pass this along until the very end. I also considered not bringing you this letter, but I decided that I must trust you with it.”

With a simple gesture, Teal’c took the parchment roll out of the folds of his robe and gave it to Daniel. “I apologize. I had to read this letter before I could pass it on to you.”

Daniel nodded and looked at the small roll. With some trepidation he took it, loosened the cords that fastened it, and opened it on the table. Grabbing the curling ends he read the text and by the time he reached the end he was pale, his eyes full of tears.

“This doesn’t make any sense… She wasn’t like that. She wouldn’t…”

“I am afraid I am not able to offer much assistance, but hosts can be susceptible to various kinds of mind control. The letter could have been written in order to demoralize you.”

“You trust this Emetjer?”

“I do.”

“And she doubted its veracity?”

“She doubted its intent.”

Daniel looked at the letter, really looked at the text, its funny repetitions, the awkward diction, its careful margins, the meanings that only mean between the lines. And then he saw it.

“This is a coded letter! In fact it has such a simple code that I’m surprised you didn’t see it. Read it by skipping every other line.”

Teal’c raised his eyebrow. “We do not use this code. It is clever.”

“She probably expected others would read it and most likely destroy it.” Daniel took the parchment and decoded the text in English, correcting, when necessary, the punctuation as he read it to Teal’c.

 

_I know that my departure left you heartbroken. Do not grieve. Do not shed any more tears for I am following a new path. I wish you to understand that our marriage ended as I entered this new life and new role for the good of our subjects. I was raised to prevail in the most adverse situations. I made you stay by my side because you were so valiant and taught me much about what existed well beyond Abydos. I accepted willingly what I was able to do in my new position and the actions that must be taken for the good of all peoples. Amonet and I understand each other and work together by having a powerful child who can help us achieve this aim of reaching far enough to seek the ancients gate-builders and keep their wisdom away from the rapacious grasp of the Goa’uld. Queen Amonet wants a path through which peace is assured for all the future children she is yet to birth. Our enemies make this fate uncertain. I will have this child in secret. I will leave this letter behind for you so you will know I am no longer yours. Now you must follow your own path. Sha're._

 

“Thank you for trusting me with this letter Teal’c. Do you believe Amonet really wanted peace?”

“Sometimes Queens desired peaceful conditions because that made their propagation easier, but it is hard to judge what Amonet’s intentions were.”

“Fair enough. But Sha’re trusted her and in the end, it’s a relief to know that she wasn't so helpless and was able to find some meaning in her short life,” Daniel said as he carefully wrapped the letter and put it in a box he kept in his office with mementos from his life in Abydos. Now, it all seemed so long ago.

With a light movement, Daniel patted Teal’c’s broad shoulder as they left his office on the way to the mess hall. It was lunchtime and there would be many friends happy to see the big guy. Daniel felt lighter, as if the planet’s gravity had suddenly lessened.

 

The End


End file.
